Water ski scooter



Jan. 24, 1961 ATTORNEY voGT 2,969,037

WATER SKI SCOOTER Filed May 29, 195

United States Patfifi WATER SKI SCOOTER Richard Vogt, Santa Barbara, Calif., assign'or to Curtiss- Wright Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed May 29, 1959, Ser. No. 816,779

4 Claims. (Cl. 115-70) This inventionrelates generally to water sports and more particularly to motor powered water skis providing a self contained scooter structure for water ski enthusiasts.

conventionally, the'sport of water skiing requires a motor boat for pulling the skier over the water. The necessity for a motor boat and operator therefor somewhat limits the opportunity for water skiing. Moreover, for novice skiers, considerable difliculty is encountered in gaining an upright position when starting from a standstill in the water. There is also the added burden to the novice skier of undue strain in holding the tow rope in that the entire motion imparted to the skis is through the skiers arms and body.

With the foregoing in mind, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a novel water skiing device which incorporates its own motive power to the end that an extra motor boat and operator are not required in order to enjoy the sport.

More particularly, an object of the invention is to provide a water skit scooter structure which is relatively easy to operate from a standstill up to and during normal speed, and yet which retains most of the advantages of conventional water skiing.

Other objects are to provide a water ski scooter of the foregoing type which is relatively safe in operation and which is useful in training novice water skiers.

Briefly, these and other objects and advantages of this invention are attained by providing a water ski scooter in the form of a pair of floats in parallel relationship a given distance apart. A cross brace member holds the floats in a fixed relationship. A conventional pair of water skis are positioned between the floats and have their forward ends hinged to the cross brace member so that their rear ends are free for riding on the surface of the water between the floats. The forward portions of the floats include a cross-mounting for supporting an outboard motor with the propeller portion extending into the water between the floats. A suitable inverted U- shaped handle is secured to the floats and extends crosswise above the skis for convenient gripping by the skier.

With the foregoing arrangement, the outboard motor pulls forwardly on the two floats and the skier simply stands on the skis in a conventional manner. As the twin floats gain speed, the rear ends of the skis themselves will be acted upon by lift forces in the water so that they will assume a planing position on the water. The underside of the floats themselves are provided with a stepped configuration so that after a certain speed is attained the floats will also plane on the water. As a consequence, the motor need not be of high power and yet relatively high speeds can be achieved. Because of the hinging arrangement for the skis, the feel of the Water ski reactions are not lost appreciably to the user and thus the existing elements of the sport are retained.

A better understanding of the invention will be had by 2,969,037 Patented Jan. 24, 1961 of the floats 1, land hinged thereto as at 5, 5 respectively.

By' this arrangement, the propeller portion of the motor 3 may be swung upwardly to a raised position about an horizontal axis corresponding with the hinge axis.

A cross bracing member 6 extends between the floats and holds them in their spaced parallel relationship. Also secured to the floats 1, 1 respectively at the cross brace member 6 is a handle 7 in the shape of an inverted U, the cross portion of which extends across the upper portion of the waterskis at a convenient gripping height as shown in Figure l. v

The front portions of'the skis 2, 2 pass under the cross brace member 6 and are hinged to the front edge thereof as at 8, 8 so that the rear ends of the skis are free. There may also be included flexible band supports as indicated at 9, 9 secured between the rear edge of the cross brace member 6 and a portion on each of the skis spaced from the hinged ends thereof. These flexible bands thus apply an upward biasing force on the skis.

Each of the floats include stepped portions as indicated at 10 in Figure l to facilitate planing of the floats when they have attained a certain speed over the water. The rear ends of each of the floats also include suitable stabilizing fins 11 which extend in the Water when the floats are moving slowly thereover. On the other hand, when the floats have attained a speed such as to plane on the water, the fins 11 will ordinarily dip only partly into the water. The invention also contemplates the provision of additional fins 12 adjacent the stepped portions of each of the floats to absorb centrifugal forces in making turns.

Starting and stopping of the motor as well as throttle control thereof may be achieved by a conventional control cable 13 passing from the motor 3 to a suitable control box 14 secured to the handle 7.

The operation of the overall water scooter will be evident from the foregoing description. Initially, the skier simply stands on the water skis in a conventional manner or if desired two skiers may ride the skis at the same time such as illustrated in Figure 1. The motor 3 is then started and as speed is gained, the floats 1, 1 will have a lifting force exerted thereon as indicated by the arrows 13. Simultaneously, the rear ends of the skis will also experience a lifting force as indicated by the arrows 14. When planing speed is attained, the floats will be riding mainly on their underside forward portions ahead of the step 10 at a relatively high speed. Similarly, the skis will be skimming the water being free to pivot about pivot points 8. Steering may be accomplished as with conventional skis by the skier shifting his weight from one ski to the other.

The upward bias exerted by the flexible bands 9 help the novice in getting started as they limit downward movement of the skis between the floats when the floats are standing still.

Finally, the hinged structure 5 for the motor mounting is such that should any obstruction in shallow water be encountered by the craft, the motor is free to swing in a counter clockwise direction about the hinge axis as viewed in Figure 1 to raise the propeller out of the water and thus prevent serious damage thereto. Since the driving force is effected at the propeller, there will normally be a clockwise rotational torque on the hinge mounting thus holding the motor 3 in its vertical position during operation.

Since the handle 7 itself is-secured to the floats which in turn are'pu-lled by the motor 3, there is no undue strain in the oper'ators arms. when holding thehandle and traveling at high speeds.

While only one embodiment of the water ski scooter of this invention has been described, various modifications that fall clearly within the scope and spirit of the invention will occur to those skilled in the art. The Water ski scooter is, therefore, not to be thought of as limited to the particular embodiment chosen for illustrative purposes.

What is claimed is:

l. A water ski scooter comprising: a pair of floats in parallel relationshipa given distance apart; a cross brace member holding said floats in said relationship, a pair of water skis positioned between said floats with their front ends hinged to said cross-brace member and their rear ends free; flexible bands secured between said cross brace member and said skis at a point spaced from the front hinged portions thereof to provide an upward bias on said skis; and a motor secured between said floats forward of said cross brace member for propelling said floats and skis forwardly in the water.

2. The'subject matter of claim' 1, including a handle of inverted U shape the legs of said U being secured to said floats respectively and extending upwardly and rearwardly, the cross portion of said U extending cross-wise above said skis at a given height for gripping.

3. The subject matter of claim 1, in which said motor includes a propeller extending downwardly between forward portions of said float; *a cross mounting for said motor extending between said forward portions; and hinge Popular Mechanics Magazine (N.Y.), July 1956, page 89 France Sept. 20, 1937 

